Calorie Confusion: David Loftus

I was never much of a fan of McDonald’s, but 15 to 30 years ago, I ate at Burger King fairly often, and I used to love Wendy’s. I ordered a lot of burgers and fries at a Wendy’s in North Boston, across the street from what was then the Boston Garden (where I saw the Moody Blues play, but not the Celtics or the Bruins), which has since been replaced by the Fleet Center. And 10 years ago, when my wife and I were making regular trips to see her ailing father in a nursing home shortly before his death, we took comfort in a lot of Chocolate Frosties at a Wendy’s nearby. We never go near those places anymore. Since we’ve both gone meatless, there’s not that much to eat at fast food establishments (though I’ve taken note of their glacial turn toward healthier food offerings, following in the footsteps of an increasingly health-conscious segment of Americans).

I’m of two minds about the news that the reported calorie counts on fast food meals and frozen dinners are inaccurate (and on the low side). Part of me feels a cynical lack of surprise: of course corporate peddlers are going to lowball their numbers and lull potential consumers into a fantasy of how “good” they’re being, as dieters always put it, as if eating were a sin. The researchers who say it’s not intentional are being polite (or trying to avoid being punished by corporate sponsors who could directly or indirectly hurt their grants). If variations in ingredients and portion size were the primary explanation, then wouldn’t the calorie listings be high at least part of the time as well as low? But part of me also feels that it must indeed be really difficult to measure calorie counts accurately when you’re churning out thousands of meals at high speed -- and consumers who choose fast food and frozen dinners instead of investing time and eating healthy traditional cuisine kind of deserve what they get.

Should companies be “made” to ensure the dietary information is accurate? I think not. Enforcement and regulation would be just too costly in time and resources. But to spot-check the producers (the way this current study has done), and to publicize the results loudly and even ridicule the offenders, is a good approach. Maybe some companies will promote the differences and publicize their competitors’ failings themselves. And if the consumers still don’t listen, then it’s their funeral … literally. Frankly, I doubt as much as 5 percent of consumers give the dietary information at fast-food restaurants a second glance; those that do -- who have a good reason to -- really shouldn’t be eating there at all. I rarely eat at chain restaurants or cook frozen meals anyway, so it’s not going to change my behavior.